Study visit of representatives of foreign media with the support of the Directorate for Enlargement

Representatives from the European Commission Directorate General for Enlargement, as well as 15 leading foreign journalists from various electronic and print media from 9 European countries visited Varazdin County on the 27. September 2011. , in order to see first hand how EU funded cross-border, and other projects conducted by Varazdin County, have positively impacted the region.  The visit was a part of study trip to Croatia organized by the EU Commission for the foreign media. The purpose of the visit was to familiarize journalists with the Croatia’s EU accession efforts to the European Union and with Croatia as a future EU member state.

Varazdin County was chosen for the visit because of the great success and various best practice examples the region has in preparing and implementing EU funded cross-border cooperation projects in various sectors and fields.

After a brief tour of the city, journalists from Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, France, Romania, Sweden, the Netherlands and Great Britain were greeted at the County Palace by the Varazdin County Prefect Predrag Štromar, and the Deputy Prefects Blanka Glavica-Ječmenica and Milan Pavleković. Mr. Stromar held a brief presentation on the status of the Varazdin County economy. The County prefect stated that the county is highly competitive in comparison to other Croatian counties thanks to major investments in education, its favorable investment climate and its sustained export surplus. He stressed the special importance of the Varazdin County Development Agency (AZRA), which since its founding has submitted a total of 52 projects, of which 23 were approved for EU funding.

“The percentage of successfully approved project proposals is 44 percent, and this is a great success since the EU average is between 10 and 12 percent,” said the County prefect.  

Patrick Galeski, the advisor for project management at AZRA, familiarized journalists with the successfully implemented and ongoing cross-border projects with Slovenia and Hungary under the pre-accession EU programmes such as INTERREG IIIA, IPA CBC SI-HR and the SEE Programme.

“AZRA as the main agency for the development of Varazdin County has a great responsibility for preparing and implementing projects. It has helped the Varazdin region and Croatia stay on the path towards the EU,” stated Galeski. 

After the meeting at the county palace, the journalists and EU Commission representatives visited the Presečki Pumpkin Oil Mill in Cargovac. It serves as one example of successful results in EU project funding. The mill is very competitive in the market, partially thanks to its participation in the project "Rural Traditional Route – POT," which was financed from the INTERREG IIIA pre-accession fund and implemented by Varazdin County. The oil mill was one of 17 family farms included in the project. Although the mill generated no direct financial benefit from the project, it obtained essential knowledge that enabled it to find its place on the market, according to the mill’s owner Zdravko Presečki.

“Through this project, we have gained valuable experience and it was our greatest springboard. Today we have rounded up the production process. The whole family is involved in the job. Thanks to the quality of oil, we were able to gain numerous restaurants as clients.” explained Presečki.

The journalists’ visit to Varazdin county ended at the rural household of Crnko II, where journalists had the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful countryside and typical meals from Zagorje.